Within recent memory, mobile telephones have evolved from a rare curiosity into a widely-available, indispensable business tool and social necessity. Many people have interpreted the rapid penetration and saturation of these products as a general societal advance. As with other supposed conveniences, however, many people also view mobile phones as a nuisance, because they are capable of filling otherwise serene locales or moments of quiet reflection with annoying rings and inane conversation.
Typically, a mobile phone rings, flashes lights, or vibrates to alert a callee of the existence of an incoming telephone call. Faced with a ringing mobile phone, the callee generally may select a button to accept the call, may allow the call ring through to voicemail, or may select another button that sends the call through to voicemail without ringing through. If the callee is in a meeting and cannot accept the call, however, they often may choose to manually send the call through to voicemail without ringing through, in order to quickly silence the ringing telephone.
The caller can often detect that the callee has manually sent their call through to voicemail if fewer than a customary number of rings, such as four rings, occurs before the call is connected to voicemail. In these circumstances, the caller may wrongly presume that the callee is rudely screening their telephone call. In myriad social and business contexts, the caller may take umbrage at this supposed personal slight, potentially leading to loss of business opportunities and diminishment of the callee's social stature.